Golden Pints 2016

After another year of only posting objective facts it's nice to once more an excuse to publish my own biased opinions.

1. Best UK Cask Beer:
   Thurstons Horsell Hop. Green hop beers are fab. And I helped pick the hops.
2. Best UK Keg Beer:
   I had one of these this year. Oh yes, though it was probably from a key keg so not really keg beer. In fact more cask in a kosher condom, as our mother church have given key kegs their approval. I didn't actually have the beer in the UK mind, but it was made in Britain: Gadd's Bretted IPA. Glorious it was.
3. Best UK Bottled Beer:
   Sticking with the Brett. here, Old Diary Tsar Top. Sadly it's not made anymore, but on the plus side I still have stocks of it.
4. Best UK Canned Beer:
   I seldom buy canned beer but I've been lucky enough to have some posted to me. I can't remember being blown away by any of them but I enjoyed Northern Monk Smokin' Bees Imperial Whisky Honey Smoked Porter so that.
5. Best Overseas Draught:
   The foreign draught beers that stick out this year are lagers, which just shows how open minded and cosmopolitan I am. I was delighted to finally find some decent lager in Germany, so thanks for the Franconia recommendation from (I think) Rob, but the winner was in Prague: Únětice 12°.
6. Best Overseas Bottled Beer:
   Orval again, still got a a bit of an obsession with this one and its bretty goodness. Drank a fair few bottles, and currently on my third go at making it myself. Which I really must blog about as I'm getting there.
7. Best Overseas Canned Beer:
   I did have a few tinnies on my travels but I can't recall for certain what any of them were. Forst lager was probably one so that.
8. Best collaboration brew:
   Can't think of one. And to be honest I still don't get the point.
9. Best Overall Beer:
   Thurstons Horsell Hop
10. Best Branding:
    Thurstons again. More excellent work from Too Much Black Coffee. I mean, just look at the Woking beer festival staff t-shirt:
    
    
    
11. Best UK Brewery: Thurstons
12. Best Overseas Brewery: Únětice
13. Best New Brewery Opening 2016:
    I like to let breweries bed in a bit before judging them so no award here.
14. Pub/Bar of the Year:
    The Crown, Horsell.
15. Best New Pub/Bar Opening 2016:
    Can't recall going to anywhere new this year.
16. Beer Festival of the Year:
    I was knacked at the GBBF this year so it wasn't a vintage one for me. Instead I'm going with Carnivale Brettanomyces. I did a talk there, and I've since written two articles about it for the IBD magazine. But most importantly I drank a lot of great beer with great people.
17. Supermarket of the Year:
    Booths again
18. Independent Retailer of the Year:
    Cobbett's Real Ale. I've been to any specialst beer shops often this year, but I must have been to Cobbett's more than any other, and I like their teeny tiny micropub.
19. Online Retailer of the Year:
    Not bought any beer online this year.
20. Best Beer Book or Magazine:
    I've been reading a lot of brewing text books of late, which has rather dampened my enthusiasm for reading other books on beer. Even my beer nerdery has its limits. I look forward to seeing Brewer and Distiller International each month though, so that wins.
21. Best Beer Blog or Website:
    Boak and Bailey have been as good as ever, but still insist on taking holidays at the same time so their regular flow is sometimes interupted. Ron Pattinson never stops though, after all obsessive is all 73 of his middle names. As well as his detail excavation of brewing records his accounts of wandering around getting pissed are also highly entertaining, so a well deserved win for Shut Up About Barclay Perkins.
22. Simon Johnson Award for Best Beer Twitterer:
    Pilot Brewery have come up with some corkers, and they're from Leith, much like myself, and went to Heriot-Watt, much like myself. Writing this I realised I don't actually follow them on twitter though, and have only seen retweeted stuff, so I can't choose them. The twatty beer doodles have been good, but did skirt dangerously close to heresy at one time, so not them either. You can't take any chances with your immortal soul. No, the clear winner for me this year is @brouwervanklomp (yes, I know).
23. Best Brewery Website/Social media:
    OK, Pilot can have this one, I really do need to follow them on twitter.
24. Bonus category
    Brewer of the year:
    I made a nomination for the BGBW award this year, but my man didn't win. So he's winning this one: Glenn Whatman of Old Dairy Brewery. He's won both SIBA and CAMRA national awards, so is already this year's winner so by any objective reckoning.